Fake meat products like veggie burgers, sausages and soy nuggets often contain non-vegan ingredients, like egg white and milk proteins, but many manufacturers have started using 100% plant-based ingredients. In 2017, more than half (52%) of new product launches in the meat-free foods market were vegan, up from 28% in 2014, according to market research organisation Mintel.

Part of this is the expense of eggs in particular, which have been subject to price fluctuations in recent years, but rising demand for vegan foods is a major driver. only a tiny percentage of consumers identifies as vegan, but more people are aiming to reduce their consumption of animal products and to eat more plant-based foods. Mintel found that 26% of consumers prefer meat-free products to be plant-based rather than containing eggs or dairy. 

In addition, initiatives like Veganuary and World Vegan Month in November have given many meat-eating consumers a taste of a vegan lifestyle and, crucially, the tools to prepare more completely plant-based meals. But for more than a quarter (26%) of habitual meat-eaters, tasting like meat is the most enticing factor for meat replacement products, according to Mintel, giving manufacturers and suppliers added impetus to produce realistically meat-like meat alternatives from plants.